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Turkish president accuses U.S. of ‘clearly’ supporting Kurdish forces
On Monday, after the U.S. State Department published a statement decrying the killing of 13 Turkish civilians, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan accused the department of “clearly” supporting Kurdish militants, according to The Hill.
“The United States deplores the death of Turkish citizens in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq,” the State Department said in the statement, saying that “[w]e stand with our NATO Ally Turkey.” However, the department noted that “[i]f reports of the death of Turkish civilians at the hands of the PKK,” a Kurdish militant group labeled as a terrorist organization by Turkey, “are confirmed, we condemn this action in the strongest possible terms.”
As The Hill pointed out, Reuters reported Monday that the U.S. ambassador to Turkey, David Satterfield, was summoned to the Turkish capital of Ankara while Erdoğan went after the State Department’s comments in an impassioned speech.
“Now there is a statement made by the United States. It’s a joke. Were you not supposed to stand against the PKK, the YPG? You clearly support them and stand behind them,” Erdoğan said in a speech delivered in the city of Rize, according to Reuters.
Following the deaths of the 13 Turkish civilians, Turkey detained over 700 individuals, including members of a pro-Kurdish political party, the country’s Interior Ministry said Monday, according to Reuters.
In December, toward the end of his term in office, then-President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on Turkey over the country buying a Russian missile defense system, after the Trump administration faced criticism for delaying sanctions on Turkey for months, as The Hill noted.
Relations between the U.S. and Turkey have become strained in recent years, as the two NATO allies’ interests in the Middle East have clashed more and more, especially in Syria and Iraq, where the U.S. has backed Kurdish groups.
You can follow Douglas Braff on Twitter @Douglas_P_Braff.
In a significant development, Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, was indicted on Thursday on federal gun charges as part of Special Counsel David Weiss’ ongoing investigation. The indictment alleges that Hunter Biden made false statements during the purchase of a firearm, among other charges.
The charges against Hunter Biden include:
• Making a false statement in the purchase of a firearm
• Making a false statement related to information required to be kept by a federal firearms licensed dealer
•Possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance
According to the indictment, the alleged incident occurred on or about October 12, 2018, in the District of Delaware. Hunter Biden is accused of knowingly making a false and fictitious written statement during the acquisition of a Colt Cobra 38SPL Revolver. According to reports from Fox News, the statement, submitted on Form 4473, falsely certified that he was not an unlawful user of, and addicted to, any stimulant, narcotic drug, or controlled substance.
Furthermore, the indictment further states that between October 12, 2018, and October 23, 2018, in the District of Delaware, Hunter Biden knowingly possessed the same firearm despite being an unlawful user of and addicted to controlled substances. This marks the first set of charges brought by Special Counsel David Weiss against Hunter Biden since being granted special counsel status.
The investigation came to public attention when it was reported by Fox News in 2021 that police had responded to an incident in 2018 involving a gun owned by Hunter Biden.
Reports state that, Hallie Biden, the widow of President Biden’s late son, Beau, who was in a relationship with Hunter at the time, discarded the gun. Hunter’s gun was thrown away in a dumpster near a market, located close to a school. It was subsequently revealed that Hunter Biden had purchased a gun earlier that same month.
Hunter Biden’s legal troubles do not end with the gun charges. Earlier in July, an original plea agreement collapsed, which would have seen him plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax counts for willful failure to pay federal income tax, thus avoiding jail time on a felony gun charge. Instead, he pleaded not guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges and one felony gun charge.
Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed David Weiss as special counsel to oversee the Hunter Biden investigation and related matters. The White House has declined to comment on these developments, which continue to draw significant public and media attention.
Follow Alexander Carter on Twitter @AlexCarterDC for more!
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